Affinity displays are popular for vehicles such as cars and trucks. For instance, bumper stickers and vanity license plates commonly display loyalty to an athletic team, race car driver, or to musical concerts or other competitive events. Items mounted on antennas have included molded plastic or rubber in the shape of cartoon characters, styrofoam™ compositions molded in the shape of a sports ball, and university or sports team pennants. Plastic mounts are commonly fitted as a saddle over the top portion of a partially open vehicle window, which is then closed; such saddles commonly have a pedestal for posting a pennant, molded figure or sports logo. Other items such as the actual or imitation horns of longhorn cattle are mounted on front bumpers to show affinity for ranching or for teams with the long horn name. Trailer hitches on the rear of vehicles are used as a pedestal to mount affinity figures or other emblems.
To date such displays have had a variety of limitations. Many externally mounted items can be stolen readily by others. An emblem on a trailer hitch must be removed when the hitch is in service for hauling. Displays associated with a back bumper or other rear-facing vehicle surface are obscured when such hauling is underway. In some states even stickers on rear windows of vehicles have been outlawed. An animal horn or other three-dimensional display that is mounted on the front of a vehicle may limit how closely the driver can reasonably approach a wall or second vehicle during parking, and are often not visible from the side of a vehicle though it is intended for public view. Items mounted on antennas increase drag and wind resistance, stressing the metal. And pennants that flap freely tend to become shredded within a few uses when a vehicle bearing them is driven at highway speeds.
Items saddled on the top edges of vehicle side window plates have had a variety of drawbacks. As currently designed they are typically inflexible and thus do not provide a close fit with the window. The combination of wind resistance and poor fit then stresses the window. Also, decorative items that protrude above the top of a vehicle result in higher turbulence and related noise during use, which can be a contributor to driver fatigue. Moreover the window often cannot be closed tightly while the item is mounted, hence in bad weather the driver and passengers are subject to ingress of wind and rain as well as additional fatiguing noise from air turbulence and mechanical vibration.
Building windows are also commonly used to mount affinity displays, for instance to show team spirit, announce events, depict an institutional affiliation, make public service announcements, proclaim another message publicly, or observe religious or secular holidays, Building windows do not usually have the vehicle issues of vibration or highway-magnitude wind speeds but they do have regular problems where taped or otherwise attached displays on the inside fall after exposure to hot sun or condensed moisture. And often external displays that are mounted on building windows have even shorter lifecycles because their attachment means are unsuited for use in any but pleasant weather. Moreover adhesives that are commonly used on walls are not favored because they harden over time and are difficult to remove even with a razor blade on glass, such as happens with masking tape, duct tape, and wall-hanging stickers.
Thus there is an ongoing need for improvements in means to mount affinity displays on windows.